A mystery of the 27" 10 speed variety.

Sorry for the ridiculously late reply I have just suffered a very unexpected bereavement in the family and things are a little haywire to say the least!

I have however made a little headway on this, I have just won a new rear wheel on eBay for the old girl! which I'm quite pleased with, although as with any eBay buy, you never quite know what you have until it's on your doorstep, the specs on the wheel according to the seller are as follows:

Rigida AL320 clincher rim.
Hague hub, 36 hole,
QR axle, no skewer.
Regina Corsa 5 sp screw on.
Rim is new old stock

The main reasons i went for it was because the rim is new old stock and the Regina freewheel (i think it's a freewheel, still new to this!) on the current wheel i have is almost silent, and so smooth in operation. Also the QR axle tempted me simply for the ease.

Now i just have to hope it sorts out the problems i was having with alignment in the frame. if not then it's a case of let the strip down begin!

In terms of finding out what frame it is that i have,.. i have got a photo of the head tube for you guys, as asked. It seems different to the fuji as suggested earlier.

Well my wheel arrived, I'm chuffed to bit, only cost £16 in all, i think i got a bargain. Feel free to prove me wrong!

The wheel arrived today, and it is a beauty, Rigida AL1320, which seems slightly rare to find, the rim is absolutely straight, not even a slight wobble, and the spokes look, and feel brand new:



The rim is a NOS Rigida AL1320, it's very nicely machined with spoke recesses and a good deal lighter than the steel wheel currently fitted.



spokes are very sturdy and highly polished to match the Rim.



Hague branded hub with a Regina Corsa 5spd set on it, a little noisy compared to my almost silent Regina CX on the original wheel, i may swap them, or just give it a good clean up and re-grease the bearings (which feel a dry anyway), also need to get a QR skewer for it, i trust there are no problems converting from nut fitment to QR? the frame spacing on the rear dropouts is 130, and that matches the axle length of the new wheel luckily!

I wonder if anyone can help anymore with the frame I.D.? I have seen a few Raleighs with matching head stem tube (still don't know the correct terms!) details around edges. Hmmmm!

I have also found out the Saddle is a 'Viscount 2200', and seems quite comfortable, although maybe i could find something a little more slimline for this bicycle? I'm unsure which direction to go in as of yet.

Could my bike have started life as something similar to a Raleigh Europa? check out this thread and find the photo of the forks being resprayed on the first page,... look familiar? and the head tube looks similar around the joins....

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=219562

your thoughts? I think it may be a Raleigh....

Retro_10s":10zpqnoe said:

Could my bike have started life as something similar to a Raleigh Europa? check out this thread and find the photo of the forks being resprayed on the first page,... look familiar? and the head tube looks similar around the joins....

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=219562

your thoughts? I think it may be a Raleigh....

Click to expand...

The Europa has different brake cable guides, yours are on the top tube, also your rear seat stays are fillet brazed to the seat tube, so its a no match

To me it still looks like a Peugeot.

I have mocked up the new rear wheel now, and besides needing a small spacer on the non drive side, and a longer spindle (I have 130mm drops, so will be going for a 140mm axle) I should be able to build up the rear end properly soon and the wheel will sit dead centre, chain line looks to be spot on too.

I'm going to ditch the solid spindles in favour of QR, It's just so much quicker and easier, and i think as long as i find some with a suitable style, they'll blend in nicely on the bike.

I keep convincing myself to ditch the Sachs Huret R/derailleur, but then logic comes along and tells me that if i just give it a good clean and careful rebuild it should keep going and going! to upgrade or not upgrade?!

does look like a Falcon to me

You know, I've just been googling falcon bicycles,... And I think you may have I.D'd it,... I have found a good few Falcons with the fork top detail that i son my bike,.. and also with the same wheels....

the O.L.D. on the new wheel measures up as 120mm, my rear dropouts are 130mm, so i will buy a small spacer,.. and a new 140mm axle <which i will upgrade to QR>

hopefully this will work!

Retro_10s":q8xwyie6 said:

You know, I've just been googling falcon bicycles,... And I think you may have I.D'd it,... I have found a good few Falcons with the fork top detail that i son my bike,.. and also with the same wheels....

the O.L.D. on the new wheel measures up as 120mm, my rear dropouts are 130mm, so i will buy a small spacer,.. and a new 140mm axle <which i will upgrade to QR>

hopefully this will work!

Click to expand...

it was also the headset that made me personally think Falcon. You're sure its 130mm??

The rear dropouts (inside measurement) come to 130mm, but whether it has been spread/cold set in the past,.. I do not know, for a 5speed of this vintage I thought it should be... errrm, 126mm? <not sure!>

The fork is the same exactly as mine. Can't help you with the brand though as even mine was unbranded / un stickered.

Nice bike and frame btw